Almost half of buyers’ agents say that home staging affects how potential home buyers view a property. Staging is important even in a sellers market. You know you’ll be able to sell your St. Louis real estate, but the right staging can help you sell faster and at a higher price.
Lighting is a critical part of staging your house. Proper lighting makes your home seem more open and inviting.
Learn more about how to use lighting to attract buyers and close on a better deal.
Maximize Natural Light
The first step when you’re trying to make a room brighter is to get as much natural light as possible. Open the curtains and blinds. If you have dark curtains or heavy blinds, you may want to replace them with lighter ones.
Take the time to thoroughly clean your windows. You may also need to prune outdoor vegetation to let more natural light inside.
Perform a Light Audit
Next, go through each room of your home as though you were a buyer. Use your camera to check for spaces that need more light.
Showings will happen at different times of the day, so do your light audit at several different times. Mornings and early evenings are often popular times for showings. This can significantly change how much light comes into a room.
Layer Your Lighting
Using a layered lighting approach is effective in most rooms. Three types of lighting to use include:
- General
- Task
- Accent
General lighting brightens a space uniformly. It lights a room so you can use it.
Task lighting provides extra focused light. It’s often important the lighting in kitchens illuminates counters for food preparation.
Accent lights add depth and dimension. They showcase individual items or areas in a room, like a painting or mantel.
Choose the Right Light Bulbs
The brightness and color of your light bulbs affect how bright a room feels. Use bulbs with the maximum possible lumens for the fixture.
House lighting options for white light bulbs include warm, neutral (white), or cool. Warm bulbs have a more orange color. Neutral has no color, and cool is somewhat blue.
Warm white bulbs (2700K) are warm and inviting. They can be a good choice if your home features natural materials like hardwood floors.
Choose a cooler white (3000K) for rooms with cool colors like grey, blue, and green. An even cooler white (4000K) is a bright choice for kitchens, offices, and other workspaces.
Make a Room Look Bigger With Lighting
You can use several lighting tricks to make a room look larger. In rooms with high ceilings, be sure the lighting is placed high enough. Lights that are too low won’t reach the ceiling, making the room look smaller.
Washing one wall of a room with light makes the room seem bigger. Illuminate the narrow ends of a wide room. Light the wide sides of a narrow room.
Remember Your Exterior Lighting
A well-lit exterior improves curb appeal in the evening. It also makes your home safer than those with poorly-lit walkways.
Using Lighting to Sell St. Louis Real Estate
A combination of natural and artificial light is key for making your home as attractive as possible to a potential new home owner in the St. Louis real estate market. You can make rooms feel larger. Good lighting makes the property feel more inviting.
You can count on the Sarah Bernard Realty Team to manage all the details of your home sale. From open house lighting to closing the transaction, we have the expertise you need.
Contact the Sarah Bernard Realty Team today to schedule a complimentary consultation to discuss your St. Louis or St. Charles real estate sale. We look forward to meeting you!